'14-15 Preseason Hoops Outlook

dtm1997

dtm1997

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ESPN has come out with an ACC preview projecting us at 13th...behind Boston College.

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-col...-basketball-preview-atlantic-coast-conference

Here's the snippet on us.

Georgia Tech rated out poorly on so-called effort stats in 2013-14, whether it was offensive rebounding percentage (No. 13 in ACC play), free throw rate (No. 14) or opponent turnover percentage (also No. 14). Brian Gregory will try to get a little more oomph out of a rotation that will include 6-5 junior Marcus Georges-Hunt, Maryland transfer Charles Mitchell (an excellent offensive rebounder), Ole Miss transfer Demarco Cox and freshman Tadric Jackson, a top-100 guard.
 
dtm1997

dtm1997

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Here were the full rankings from ESPN

2014-15 ACC Projected Standings
1. Duke | 2. Louisville | 3. Virginia | 4. North Carolina | 5. Syracuse | 6. Pittsburgh | 7. Notre Dame | 8. NC State Wolfpack | 9. Florida State | 10. Miami (FL) | 11. Clemson | 12. Boston College | 13. Georgia Tech | 14. Wake Forest | 15. Virginia Tech

I'm not gonna make a case for where we should rate at this moment, but I think dook, Ville, UVA, ND, UNC, & FSU are above average likely for the Tourney. Also think Pitt & Cuse could be in that mix if things break their way. Maybe even Miami. So with ACC expansion, there's some level of possibility to see 9 tourney teams. Probably end up with the next 2-3 in the NIT.

Add all that up, at 12th or 13th, we could be on an NIT bubble, which is probably about right, as of today.

Sidenote - FSU at 9th is absurd. They always play tough defense. Aaron Thomas is projected as a volume scorer and they have 2 guys manning the paint in excess of 7ft tall. They should probably be slotted 5th or 6th.
 
Peacone36

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dtm1997 said:
Here were the full rankings from ESPN

2014-15 ACC Projected Standings
1. Duke | 2. Louisville | 3. Virginia | 4. North Carolina | 5. Syracuse | 6. Pittsburgh | 7. Notre Dame | 8. NC State Wolfpack | 9. Florida State | 10. Miami (FL) | 11. Clemson | 12. Boston College | 13. Georgia Tech | 14. Wake Forest | 15. Virginia Tech

I'm not gonna make a case for where we should rate at this moment, but I think dook, Ville, UVA, ND, UNC, & FSU are above average likely for the Tourney. Also think Pitt & Cuse could be in that mix if things break their way. Maybe even Miami. So with ACC expansion, there's some level of possibility to see 9 tourney teams. Probably end up with the next 2-3 in the NIT.

Add all that up, at 12th or 13th, we could be on an NIT bubble, which is probably about right, as of today.

Sidenote - FSU at 9th is absurd. They always play tough defense. Aaron Thomas is projected as a volume scorer and they have 2 guys manning the paint in excess of 7ft tall. They should probably be slotted 5th or 6th.
Click to expand...

Cuse too high FSU and Wake are too low. I think Miami is going to be not good at all. Wake is going to be a surprise team this year. CMM is a player. Not saying they are going to the sweet16 but I think they are a potential NIT team.
 
Connell62

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dtm1997 said:
Here were the full rankings from ESPN

2014-15 ACC Projected Standings
1. Duke | 2. Louisville | 3. Virginia | 4. North Carolina | 5. Syracuse | 6. Pittsburgh | 7. Notre Dame | 8. NC State Wolfpack | 9. Florida State | 10. Miami (FL) | 11. Clemson | 12. Boston College | 13. Georgia Tech | 14. Wake Forest | 15. Virginia Tech

I'm not gonna make a case for where we should rate at this moment, but I think dook, Ville, UVA, ND, UNC, & FSU are above average likely for the Tourney. Also think Pitt & Cuse could be in that mix if things break their way. Maybe even Miami. So with ACC expansion, there's some level of possibility to see 9 tourney teams. Probably end up with the next 2-3 in the NIT.

Add all that up, at 12th or 13th, we could be on an NIT bubble, which is probably about right, as of today.

Sidenote - FSU at 9th is absurd. They always play tough defense. Aaron Thomas is projected as a volume scorer and they have 2 guys manning the paint in excess of 7ft tall. They should probably be slotted 5th or 6th.
Click to expand...

No doubt on FSU, it wouldn't surprise me to see them finish as high as 5th. It is very difficult to project wins/losses for our team with all of the new pieces. As I have mentioned before, I think that we have the best mix of size, talent, and experience that we've ever had under Gregory, but there are still a lot of questions to be answered. Sampson, Mitchell, and Cox are all very solid players that have played in big games against big opponents and had success.

With so much talent in the league, I would say that a 10th place finish will be challenging, but it is attainable with 9th being a possibility if we gel earlier than expected. We would also need to actually get a few breaks this year and have some of the teams projected ahead of us (NC State) falter. Likewise, if we don't come together quickly or if we have more key injuries, then we could finish lower than our preseason ranking. It's just too tough to say at this point.

Can someone remind me why Boston College is projected ahead of us. If I'm not mistaken, they lost one of the best players (Ryan Anderson), and they also have a new coach/system. Their backcourt will be solid, but I'm not sure how they are ranked in front of us. As far as Clemson is concerned, yes they have our number and they have owned us recently, but that has to change at some point. They lost their stat-sheet-stuff and best player (KJ McDaniel) as well. So while they do have talent, they caught a lot of breaks last year, and if the ball bounces the other way for them a few times, they can easily have finish lower. I don't see a real-go-to-guy on their team.

IMO, the teams projected 11-15 all have a number of questions marks and those spots will flip-flop all season.
 
dtm1997

dtm1997

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BC is projected ahead of us because ESPN has a secret LSD factory on site. They also lost Joe Rahon. They're backcourt will be solid, as they return most of last year's crew.
 
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